Istanze di rinnovamento nel restauro dell'antico intorno al 1675-1680: il caso del Fauno Barberini

In the history of the restoration of ancient sculptures a turning point is marked by some episodes of the second half of the eighth decade of the seventeenth century: the one by Ercole Ferrata on the Belvedere Venus (Florence, Uffizi Gallery; 1677-1678 ), the one by Giuseppe Mazzuoli on the Chigi Gladiators (Dresden, Skulpturensammlung; 1677-1679 ) and that one by Lorenzo Ottoni and Giuseppe Giorgetti on the Barberini Faun (Monaco, Glyptothek; 1679 ). The latter, in particular, was conducted in a very peculia way, which would seem absolutely revolutionary: although it seems that no one followed the path opened by the restoration of Ottoni and Giorgetti, it is important to focus on that episode, which is perhaps to be read also in relation to what, at the same time, was a new experiment in the field of the restoration of paintings, namely Carlo Maratta’s intervention on Carracci’s frescoes in Palazzo Farnese.